The Beauty Routine Post

Let’s start with what’s in the medicine cabinet… alllll my skin care items. My favorite products can’t be bought in America anymore, which sucks, because they work so well. I’ll give you a bit of backstory. In high school, I was in Drama, and we did mime. I swear the mime makeup was made out of Elmer’s glue and flour, with a splash of water thrown in. And it killed my skin. I graduated in 2007 and my skin has still not fully recovered. Bad pores, a couple scars, all that stuff. Mime makeup is evil. Enter Soap and Glory, which has saved my life. And now it’s left American shelves. And I await their triumphant return to the States. Here’s the medicine cabinet full shot. Then we’ll go shelf by shelf.

Top Shelf:

From Left to Right: My sister’s things (I share a bathroom with my 12-year old sister), L’Oreal Go360 Clean for Sensitive Skin Cream Wash. This is my morning wash. Mornings I need a simple, fast routine, because it’s already hectic enough. And the little scrublet thingy is great! Soap and Glory Scrub Your Nose In It, which I use on Tuesday and Friday nights. It clears out pores and has a fine grit scrub to it. I leave it on as a mask for three minutes and wash it off with a hot washcloth. Murad Oil Control something… I got as a sample from Sephora, but my sensitive skin rejected it… so I don’t remember the name. And then a Color Protectant Spray (I’m naturally dark, dirty blonde that I dye reddish golden brown) and volumizing spray and root boosters.

Second Shelf:

The main skin care shelf. From Left to Right: Soap and Glory Dr. Spot Treatment. Put this stuff on a zit popping up and it’s gone way before it would without it. Hurry back Soap and Glory! Nuetrogena Oil Free Eye Makeup Remover. I do serious eye makeup and need a way to get it off without raccoon eyes, this is it. Clinique Clarifying Lotion Number 3 for Combination Oily Skin. Gets the last bits of build-up off my face. Don’t look at the cotton pads after swiping this across the face! Clinique Face Soap for Oily Skin. Use this after the shower to wash, I love this and have for years. Soap and Glory Fab Pore Hot Cloth Cleanser. This is a creamy cleanser I apply on Wednesday and Saturday nights, leave on for a minute, and then wash off with the included muslin cloth. It shrinks the pores! Soap and Glory Fab Pore 15 Minute Mask. Okay, they advertise this as a facial peel, but it has more mask-like qualities. I put this on for 15 Minutes every Monday and Thursday night and after I take it off, my face is glowing and healthy. Soap and Glory! Benefit Dear John Facial Cream. Thick, rich moisturizing cream that is the only moisturizer I can use and not have a horrible reaction to. I’d hate to think what would happen if Benefit stopped making this. I use this every morning and every night. Origins Modern Friction Microdermabrasive scrub. I got a mini-facial at Origins for my birthday last year, and the girl used this on me… this was the first scrub I’ve found that didn’t cause a horrible reaction of red sore patches. It costs a lot, but it lasts forever. Use it every Sunday night. Rare Minerals Active Triple Treatment Eye Cream. I may be 21, but I don’t believe it’s too early to protect and prevent. This eye cream takes care of puffiness, fine lines, and some dark circles. Every morning and evening before my moisturizer… I also use it at the corners of my mouth, where there’s delicate skin too.

Third Shelf:

From Left To Right: The sister’s face scrub, oatmeal, a trick I used until I found a real scrub and passed on to her… it works for hyper sensitive skin, or peeling really bad sunburnt skin. Garnier Anti-Puff and Circle Eye Roller. This I use to help with my big under-eye circles. They don’t totally disappear, but they fade a lot. And Sister’s stuff.

So that’s the skincare part. Now for the other part… my love, the makeup!

The Base:

Left to Right: Benefit The Porefessional. Another product to shrink my pores… with all the products I use, you can only see the big ones on my face if you’re right up in my face. And if you’re right up in my face, you’d best introduce yourself or prepare to be slapped… personal space, please. Benefit That Gal Primer. A pretty pink primer that brightens up my tired face. And smooths and holds makeup well. Benefit Erase Paste in No. 1 Fair. Cover up the little bits of dark circles left after the skincare, as well as any breakouts I may have. Benefit Hello Flawless! in Never Settle Petal. A great powder foundation that seriously lasts all day. My mom wore this stuff while at a conference in Atlanta. At the end of a busy day of running around in a hot July Atlanta day, she had to go on tv, and the makeup artist didn’t need to do much of anything, her Hello Flawless! had stayed all day. That convinced me it was worth the $$. L’Oreal Bare Naturale Concealer in Light. Dust this on to catch any fallout eyeshadow and do a last cover-up.

Cheeks:

Left to Right: TheBalm Mary-Loumanizer Luminzer. This is a shimmery white-gold, I dust it on with a fan brush over my cheeks, no disco-ball effect from it with the light brush strokes! NARS Blush in Orgasm. I. Love. This. Blush. It’s lasted me forever, I wear it daily, and it gives me a pretty flush. So perfect.

The Eyes:

As much L t R as I can: TooFaced Shadow Insurance. My greasy eyelids would make the best shadows crease within a few hours, but with this they last all day and don’t crease. Kat Von D High Voltage Eye Primer in Smoky. I’ve discussed this before, but to give you a little more… It helps to keep shadows from creasing, keeps them intense and gives the eyes a smoldery look. It’s also got a great consistency. Stila Eye Shadow in Kitten. I use this shadow every day as my base color. It’s nice and smooth, and the pinky-gold color is great. Urban Decay Black Palette. Need I say more? Urban Decay 24/7 Eye Liner in Bourbon. I don’t wear black liner often, and this dark brown one with little gold glitter bits is perfect for me. Buxom Buxom Lash Mascara. I use this as a base mascara, lots of good volume, great dark black color. Benefit Bad Gal Lash Mascara. I use two coats of this after the Buxom Lash, it amps up my little lashes perfectly. Benefit Bad Gal Blue. I use the tiniest bit of this on the base of my lashes, it’s a bright blue and brightens up the whites of my eyes great. Sephora Atomic Volume Mascara. I use the tiniest bit of this on my lower lashes, for a little extra definition. Yes, I use FOUR (4) mascara’s… but I have tiny, sparse lashes… so I need them all. Benefit Eye Bright Pencil. Use this at the corner of my eyes… it’s a creamy pink and wakes the eyes up a little more. Benefit High Beam. I use this shimmery silver pink highlighter on my brow bones to give them an instant lift. I love makeup.

Brows:

TooFaced Brow Envy Kit. I overplucked my eyebrows too many times and was lucky to have them grow back almost fine… I use a brow shaping kit now every day, to keep them in good shape. It has wax, two powder shades (I only use the light one), three stencils, a brow pencil and spooly brush, mini-tweezers, and an angled brow brush.

And that’s all I do… almost every day. Yeah, I feel weird without a face on, unless I’m sick, and then I see no point to wearing makeup if all I’m doing is lying in bed sleeping and feeling icky. Sorry to have bored you, or shocked you.

And here’s a hint about the next makeup post I’ll do:

And I’ll have face shots for this one!

Please forgive the terrible quality of pictures… I couldn’t find my camera, so I had to resort to using my iPhone camera. And as much as I love my iPhone, the camera is not the best, and I have inferior photo-editing stuff. As in the stuff the computer came with.